Awake, At Last
by Yakosh
Summary: Neither of them expected it to ever happen, but life isn't always cruel. Now, they get to go on a date in the real world. A short and fluffy yuri one-shot of my probably favorite pairing, Fem!Kirito and Yuuki.


**A short, fluffy yuri one-shot featuring Fem!Kirito (aka Kimiko) and Yuuki. Happy Birthday Xera!**

* * *

It was a miracle. That's what the doctor had said, and Kimiko couldn't help but agree.

Kimiko knew what it was like to feel crushed and hopeless—every time a friend before fell before her in that accursed castle in the sky, she had felt it. But, at least, those times, her fury had driven her forward—had pushed her onwards till her sword found the madman's heart. When she'd found out Yuuki was terminal, there was nothing to push towards. No path to vengeance. Nothing but despair. Despair to be buried with all her will for the brave, beautiful warrior who faced the inevitable with a shining, hopeful smile.

When Yuuki had signed up for a prototype cure, nobody had hoped for much from it—not the researchers, not Yuuki, and certainly not Kimiko. And initially, things went about as well as everyone expected. But then, almost without warning, the cure finally bore fruit and a sudden shift had Yuuki on track for recovery.

Kimiko knew what it was like to feel crushed and hopeless—but never before had she felt the opposite. That one phone call had erased everything she'd buried, turned despair to hope. The walls no longer felt like they were coming down. A heavy weight had vanished. The world, which had seemed so dark and bleak, was full of brilliance.

* * *

Filled with excitement, Kimiko all but skipped from her room to her motorcycle. A bag containing Yuuki's clothes found its way into the baggage compartment and the rider mounted her bike. Their original plan had been to go clothes shopping as their first destination, but they quickly realized a _minor_ flaw with that plan—Yuuki had _no_ clothes. At all. Having spent her pubescent years without leaving the hospital, Yuuki didn't own a single set of fitting clothes, at least beyond the hospital gowns which technically didn't even belong to her. In lieu of this fact, they'd moved their clothes fitting session into the virtual world.

Her bike's engine purred to life and she was off, driving maybe a _little_ faster than was _probably_ safe.

Almost two months had passed since Yuuki's miraculous recovery and the once-sickly girl was finally allowed to go out, hence the noirette's giddiness. Yuuki had joked more than once that her girlfriend was far more eager for this day than she was, but it did nothing to dampen that enthusiasm.

Despite her maybe_-_slightly-reckless driving, the ex-swordswoman arrived at her destination in one piece and practically ran inside with only a short detour to grab the bag she'd forgotten. Thanks to her near-daily visits, the clerk printed the required permit on sight, leading to only several seconds of bouncy waiting, followed shortly by an equally bouncy elevator ride. It didn't take long before she was knocking on her lover's door. "I'm here, Yuuki!"

"Come in!" the voice that called back wasn't _quite_ as enthused, but it didn't take a genius to tell its owner was happy to be seeing the outside world again.

Opening the door, Kimiko has greeted with the familiar sight of Yuuki in her medical gown. Compared to when she'd first seen the girl, she was much healthier-looking, obviously. Emaciated limbs now had the beginnings of lithe muscles—something aforementioned gown did little to hide—and her skin, once pale was... well, still pale, since she hadn't exactly gotten a lot of sun in the last 3 years, but it wasn't sickly anymore. Her hair had been allowed to grow out somewhat, hanging down past her shoulders now, the brown locks held back by a headband that mimicked her avatar's.

After a brief session of hugs and kisses, followed by the realization that the door had been left open, an embarrassed Yuuki fled to the restroom with Kimiko's bag while aforementioned bag's owner spoke with the doctor. "If she gets sick with anything, no matter how minor, bring her back here immediately_._" Something told Kimiko that if this doctor was allowed her way, Yuuki wouldn't be leaving any time soon. _Not that I disagree _entirely_, and you don't need to tell me twice,_ the girl thought.

Apparently, nodding along was not sufficient. "If she gets sick, bring her back right away, got it?" _She told me twice._

"Of course!"

Both turned towards the sound of a door opening, revealing Yuuki once more. This time, in much more flattering clothes. A graceful twirl showed off those clothes. A muted pink shirt fluttered loosely, cut in a way that sometimes showed off a bit of her stomach when she moved, while a darker purple skirt hung down over her legs, covering down not quite halfway to her knees. Dark brown stockings hid _most_ of her legs from view, falling just a couple inches short of the skirt, and slightly lighter shoes finished off the attire.

Kimiko kissed her again, right in front of the doctor. Aforementioned professional was also embarrassed this time.

* * *

Their—at least since she adopted Yuuki a couple months ago—mom came during her lunch break, signing all the necessary paperwork for hospital release and soon, the two approached Kimiko's motorcycle. As Kimiko tossed her girlfriend the helmet brought for her, the latter let out a surprised yelp which _almost_ made her kiss the girl again in the middle of the parking lot... Oops... eh, not like it mattered what strangers thought.

"Kimiko!" Yuuki attempted to be stern. She also tried, and failed, to be upset as she quickly put on the helmet, cheeks still dusted pink. After she fumbled with the straps a bit, Kimiko gladly helped, briefly wrapping Yuuki's hands in her own before fastening the helmet.

Smiling brightly, Kimiko mounted her bike. Yuuki followed, sitting behind her with considerably less grace, and an opportunity for payback occurred to her. She reached her arms around Kimiko-

Kimiko let out a surprised squeak, "Yuuki?!"

-and shamelessly grabbed her chest. Well, not 'shamelessly', but the glossy motorcycle helmet helped gloss over that particular detail. Steeling her voice, she did her best to sound innocent and cheerful, "What?"

After a few failed attempts which made Kimiko's past teasing considerably more understandable, the victim finally managed to stammer out, "Y-your h-hands..."

"Hmm?" Yuuki blushed fiercely beneath the sheet of tinted plastic as she played innocent. Tightening her grip earned another squeak. She wished she could see Kimiko's face, but both positioning and the girl's own helmet prevented that.

"I-I don't t-think it's a g-good idea to drive like t-this..." Kimiko stammered out, much more embarrassed now that the control lay with Yuuki, "I-it's a bit d-distracting."

Satisfied with her victory, Yuuki's hands slipped down to wrap around Kimiko tightly. After closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to calm her hammering heart, Kimiko ignited the engine. _I can stare down monsters and killers without flinching, but my girlfriend gets a little handsy and suddenly I'm a stammering mess that can hardly think,_ Kimiko chuckled internally. As they pull out of the parking lot, Kimiko deliberations reached a conclusion, _I think I'm okay with that._

The rest of the drive was much calmer, passed in companionable silence. 'Silence' meaning they didn't talk—the fact that the motorcycle was far from silent played a significant role in that.

* * *

By the time night came and the black motorcycle pulled back into the Kirigaya driveway, both girls were thoroughly exhausted. Unsurprising after going to a restaurant, shopping, visiting an arcade—and breaking half the records, riding trains for the experience, going to the park, walking through the city, shopping again—fitting all their purchases on the bike had been a bit of a challenge, and going to a restaurant again. Of course, plenty of flirting and kissing at every step.

_Best day of my life_, Kimiko decided as they entered her room, tossing their purchases in a pile to figure out later, before sitting down on her bed, leaning on each other. "I'm going to be sleeping outside the hospital," Yuuki murmured, teary-eyed and almost disbelieving. Kimiko wrapped an arm around the crying girl, then her other as Yuuki began to cry, quietly sobbing into her shoulder as she returned the embrace. Kimiko wiped a hand across her eyes and it came back wet.

Morning found the lovers embraced on the bed, smiling happily as they woke in each other's arms, their burdens shared and left behind.

"Well, at least this gives us a good excuse to put on the new clothes," Kimiko commented as she glanced down at their wrinkled and tear-stained clothes.

"Did we need one?" Yuuki questioned.

"Good point. But, counterpoint-" Kimiko embraced her once more, locking their lips in a passionate kiss.

* * *

**The writing was kinda all-over the place, but in my defense, I started this at 12 AM, feeling kinda alright and now its 3 AM and I'm about ready to go pass out. I was gonna write the actual date part, but, as I said, 3 AM. Currently, I think this was probably the best written thing I've posted so far, though I suppose that might be subject change after I get some sleep.**

**This one-shot doesn't really mean I'm back into writing, I kinda wrote it on a whim for Xera's birthday. Still, you might see more one shots from me occasionally, or I might start writing something. Despite my prior opinions on the subject, I am actually starting to consider a rewrite of my very first and most popular story, SAO: The Rangers Black and Blue.**

**Anyway, that'll have to wait till I don't have my application to my EA college due in 21 hours.**

**I'd say I haven't even started said application, but fortunately, I'm not that irresponsible for once and I'm actually entirely finished, just waiting for my counselor to review everything before I press the big button.**

**UPDATE (from the next morning): Thanks to User for helping point out some mistakes and whatnot.**

**UPDATE (from like 6 months later because I happened to see that I wrote this note): I did not get into the EA college, but I got into a better one, so all's well!**


End file.
